Fence posts and the like, due to their shape, are often difficult to store and transport. A thin piece of wire can be used to tie a small bundle of posts together. Each post forming part of the bundle is threaded onto the piece of wire (i.e. the wire is threaded through a hole in the post) and the wire is then tied off at the outer posts, thereby forming the small bundle of posts. However, when this bundle is being stored or transported the posts will tend to move along the wire. This can cause kinks along the length of the wire which can make unpacking of the bundle quite difficult and time consuming, requiring the aid of good tools and wire cutters to enable the kinked wire to be removed from between the posts. Further, movement of the posts along the wire forms awkward bundle shapes which can make stacking of the bundles for storage or transport difficult, due to the resulting inconsistent trapezoidal shape. The bundles can also look untidy, as there is no uniformity between the bundles, and there are excessive amounts of the thin ductile wire that is used for tying off the bundles extending out and beyond the bundles.
Other storage and transport solutions have been proposed, such as crates or trays, but these options are generally quite bulky and heavy, leading to an unnecessary increase in transport costs due to the increased weight and reduced number of posts able to be transported. One such transport cradle is disclosed in AU2013100033. The ends of each bundle of posts are covered with a capping material and clamped closed. However, once one end cap has been removed, and/or a single post has been removed from the bundle, the remaining posts become looser in the bundle, and one post may work its way out of the capping unless the cap is bolted back on, which may not be easy to achieve.
Of particular concern is a fence post becoming separated from the bundle. This presents a major safety concern, as the post may dislodge from the bundle and spear, for example, a driver of a vehicle. It may not only be the driver of the transport vehicle, but the post may become loose and spear an occupant of a vehicle following the transport vehicle on the road, or a pedestrian.
The above references to the background art do not constitute an admission that the art forms a part of the common general knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the art. The above references are also not intended to limit the application of the device, handle, system and method as disclosed herein.